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Oscar 2010: Animated Short Film Semi-Finalists

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the 10 semi-finalists in the animated short film category of the 2010 Academy Awards. Thirty-seven entries had originally qualified in the category. They are:

The Cat Piano, Eddie White and Ari Gibson, directors (The People’s Republic of Animation)

French Roast, Fabrice O. Joubert, director (Pumpkin Factory/Bibo Films)

Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty, Nicky Phelan, director, and Darragh O’Connell, producer (Brown Bag Films)

The Kinematograph, Tomek Baginski, director-producer (Platige Image)

The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte), Javier Recio Gracia, director (Kandor Graphics and Green Moon)

Logorama, Nicolas Schmerkin, producer (Autour de Minuit)

A Matter of Loaf and Death, Nick Park, director (Aardman Animations Ltd.)

Partly Cloudy, Peter [...]

Oscar 2010: Documentary Feature Semi-Finalists

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the 15 semi-finalists in the 2010 Academy Awards’ Documentary Feature category. Eighty-nine films had been in the running.
The 15 documentary feature semi-finalists are:

The Beaches of Agnes, Agnès Varda, director (Cine-Tamaris)

Burma VJ, Anders Østergaard, director (Magic Hour Films)

The Cove, Louie Psihoyos, director (Oceanic Preservation Society)

Every Little Step, James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo, directors (Endgame Entertainment)

Facing Ali, Pete McCormack, director (Network Films Inc.)

Food, Inc., Robert Kenner, director (Robert Kenner Films)

Garbage Dreams, Mai Iskander, director (Iskander Films, Inc.)

Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders, Mark N. Hopkins, director (Red Floor Pictures LLC)

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, Judith Ehrlich [...]

Oscar 2010: Hash Hamilton to Direct Oscar Telecast

Hamish Hamilton will direct the 2010 Academy Awards telecast, show producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman have announced. It will be Hamilton”s first time directing the Oscar show.
Among Hamilton’s credits are the “MTV Video Music Awards” and the “MTV Europe Music Awards,” in addition to live concert performances by the likes of U2, Neil Diamond, Josh Groban, Stevie Wonder, and Christina Aguilera, among others. In February 2010, he will direct the Super Bowl XLIV half-time show.
The 2010 Academy Award nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
The Academy Awards ceremony will take place [...]

Lauren Bacall, Roger Corman, Gordon Willis: Governors Awards 2009

Honorary Award recipients Roger Corman, Lauren Bacall, and Gordon Willis at the 2009 Governors Awards ceremony held at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland on Saturday, November 14.
“It’s so much better … that nobody’s worrying whether 36.5 million people are watching us or 29.2,” remarked Warren Beatty, a former Irving G. Thalberg Award recipient who paid homage to this year’s Thalberg Award honoree John Calley, who, reportedly suffering from serious health issues, was unable to attend the ceremony.
After Kirk Douglas declared he once unsuccessfully tried to seduce her, and Anjelica Huston praised her “steadfastness,” 85-year-old Lauren Bacall waved away an escort trying to help her get to the podium, remembered her “great love” Humphrey Bogart, her myriad leading [...]

Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Vera Farmiga: Governors Awards 2009

Previous Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award recipients Saul Zaentz, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Walter Mirisch, and two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks present the Thalberg Award to producer John Calley (The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons), who was unable to attend the 2009 Governors Awards ceremony held at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland on Saturday, November 14.

Actress Vera Farmiga, a potential contender for the 2010 best supporting actress Oscar

Four-time Academy Award nominee Jeff Bridges and wife Susan

Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme (for The Silence of the Lambs) and Honorary Award recipient Roger Corman
Photos: Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Click on the photos to enlarge them.

George Lucas, Meg Tilly, Kirk Douglas: Governors Awards 2009

Academy Award-nominated actresses Jennifer Tilly (as best supporting actress, for Bullets Over Broadway) and Meg Tilly (also in the best supporting actress category, for Agnes of God), arrive at the 2009 Governors Awards ceremony held at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland on Saturday, November 14.

Previous Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award recipient and two-time best director Academy Award nominee George Lucas with investor/TV show hostess Mellody Hobson

Three-time Academy Award nominee Kirk Douglas pays tribute to Lauren Bacall, his co-star in both Young Man with a Horn (1950) and Diamonds (1999)
Photos: Michael Yada (Jennifer and Meg Tilly, Lucas), Richard Harbaugh (Douglas) / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Click on the photos to enlarge them.

Roger Corman, Anjelica Huston, Sally Kellerman: Governors Awards 2009

Honorary Award recipient Roger Corman, the producer-director of cult classics such as House of Usher, Pit and the Pendulum, Tower of London, The Terror, The Raven, The Masque of the Red Death, The Tomb of Ligeia, The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, and Bloody Mama, arrives at the 2009 Governors Awards ceremony held at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland on Saturday, November 14.

Academy Award-nominated actress Sally Kellerman (in the supporting category, for M*A*S*H, in 1970) and Academy Award winner Anjelica Huston (also as best supporting actress, for Prizzi’s Honor in 1985)

Five-time Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, among whose credits are The Black Stallion, The Right Stuff, The Natural, and The Passion of the Christ
Photos: Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Click on [...]

Gordon Willis, Ron Howard, Dana Delany: Governors Awards 2009

Honorary Award recipient Gordon Willis, the cinematographer of classics such as Klute, The Godfather films, Serpico, All the President’s Men, Annie Hall, Comes a Horseman, Manhattan, Broadway Danny Rose, and The Purple Rose of Cairo, arrives at the 2009 Governors Awards ceremony held at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland on Saturday, November 14. Despite his impressive list of credits, Willis has been nominated for only two Academy Awards: Zelig (1982) and The Godfather Part III (1990)

Ron Howard, who won a best director Academy Award for A Beautiful Mind in 2002

Actress Dana Delany of the television series Desperate Housewives
Photos: Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Click on the photos to enlarge them.

Lauren Bacall, Maria Bello, Alec Baldwin: Governors Awards 2009

Honorary Award recipient Lauren Bacall, who appeared in, among others, To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep, Young Man with a Horn, How to Marry a Millionaire, Woman’s World, Sex and the Single Girl, Murder on the Orient Express, The Fan, and The Mirror Has Two Faces, arrives at the 2009 Governors Awards ceremony held at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland on Saturday, November 14.

Maria Bello, the leading lady in A History of Violence

Oscar 2010 co-host Alec Baldwin, a best supporting actor Academy Award nominee for The Cooler
Photos: Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Click on the photos to enlarge them.

Tom Hanks, Annette Bening, Warren Beatty: Governors Awards 2009

Previous Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award recipients Dino de Laurentiis, Warren Beatty, Norman Jewison, Saul Zaentz, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Walter Mirisch and two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks present the Thalberg Award to producer John Calley (The Remains of the Day, The Da Vinci Code), who was unable to attend the 2009 Governors Awards ceremony held at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland on Saturday, November 14.

Previous Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award recipient Norman Jewison, whose socially conscious cop drama In the Heat of the Night won the best picture Oscar in 1968

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s Board of Governors posed for a group photo following the 2009 Governors Awards
Front Row (left to right): Sid [...]

Warren Beatty, Steven Spielberg, Dino de Laurentiis: Governors Awards 2009

Previous Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award recipient Warren Beatty, who also won a best director Oscar for Reds in 1982, at the presentation of the Thalberg Award to John Calley, who was unable to attend the 2009 Governors Awards ceremony in the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland on Saturday, November 14.

Previous Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award recipient Steven Spielberg, who also won two best directors Oscars, for Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan

Previous Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award recipient Dino de Laurentiis, the producer of classics such as La Strada, Nights of Cabiria, The Great War, The Stranger, and Serpico
Todd Wawrychuk / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Click on the photos to enlarge them.

Lauren Bacall, Annette Bening, Jeff Bridges: Governors Awards 2009

Honorary Award recipient Lauren Bacall, the star of classics such as To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep, Key Largo, How to Marry a Millionaire, and Designing Woman. Bacall was nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar for The Mirror Has Two Faces in 1996.
“A man at last,” the 85-year-old Bacall exclaimed while holding her Honorary Oscar. “I’m here to stay so you better get used to the idea.”

Three-time Oscar nominated actress Annette Bening toasts Honorary Award recipient Lauren Bacall during the 2009 Governors Awards in the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland on Saturday, November 14.

Gordon Willis, the cinematographer of classics such as The Godfather Part II, All the President’s Men, and The Purple Rose of Cairo, receives [...]

Warren Beatty, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg: Governors Awards 2009

Past Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award recipients Dino de Laurentiis, Warren Beatty, Saul Zaentz, George Lucas, Norman Jewison, Walter Mirisch, Steven Spielberg presenting this year’s Thalberg Award to John Calley, who was unable to attend the 2009 Governors Awards ceremony in the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland on Saturday, November 14.

Honorary Award recipient Roger Corman, the producer-director of numerous low-budget films including Attack of the Crab Monsters, Carnival Rock, Bloody Mama, and House of Usher

Honorary Award recipient Gordon Willis, the cinematographer of classics such as The Godfather, Annie Hall, and Manhattan, with Jeff Bridges, one of the stars of Bad Company, a 1972 Western shot by Willis
Richard Harbaugh (Willis/Bridges, group photo), Matt Petit (Corman) / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Click on the photos [...]

Oscar 2010: David Rockwell to Design Oscar Show

David Rockwell will serve as production designer for the 2010 Academy Awards, Oscar telecast producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic have announced. Rockwell served in that same capacity last year.
Rockwell’s set design work includes the Broadway productions of Hairspray, Legally Blonde, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and The Rocky Horror Show, as well as the upcoming Elf and Houdini. His firm also designed the Kodak Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland complex.
Other projects designed by Rockwell Group include a free-standing building for Cirque du Soleil at Walt Disney World in Florida; the Elinor Bunin-Munroe Film Center at Lincoln Center in New York; and the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco.
The [...]

Oscar 2010: Animated Feature Semi-Finalists

Up by Pete Docter (top); A Town Called Panic by Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar (middle); Fantastic Mr. Fox by Wes Anderson (bottom)

Twenty features have been submitted for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category for the 2010 Academy Awards. They are:

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Astro Boy
Battle for Terra
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Disney’s A Christmas Carol
The Dolphin – Story of a Dreamer
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Mary and Max
The Missing Lynx
Monsters vs. [...]

Oscar 2010: Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin to Host Oscar Telecast

Steve Martin in The Pink Panther 2

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will act as co-hosts at the 2010 Academy Awards ceremony, Oscar telecast producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman have announced.
Steve Martin hosted the 73rd and 75th Academy Awards shows, earning an Emmy nomination for the first stint. He has also served as a presenter several times, most recently at the 2009 Oscar ceremony in February, when he shared the stage with Tina Fey. (Theirs was a very clever bit. Tina Fey, in fact, would have been an ideal Oscar co-hostess.)
Alec Baldwin was nominated for an Academy Award in 2003 for his supporting role in The Cooler.
The 2010 Academy Award nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February [...]

Oscar 2010: Anjelica Huston, Jonathan Demme, Kirk Douglas to Present Honorary Oscars

Lauren Bacall

Oscar winners Anjelica Huston, Jonathan Demme, and Quentin Tarantino, and Honorary Award recipient Kirk Douglas will be some of the presenters at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ first Governors Awards event on November 14 at Hollywood & Highland Center’s Grand Ballroom.
The evening will feature presentations of the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to producer-executive John Calley, and Honorary Awards to actress Lauren Bacall, producer-director Roger Corman and cinematographer Gordon Willis.
The black-tie dinner event for more than 600 guests will feature film clips as well as statements from the honorees, and tributes from their colleagues and admirers.
The Honorary Award, an Oscar statuette, is given to an individual [...]

Oscar 2010: Oscar Correspondent Contest

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and mtvU, MTV’s 24-hour college network, have announced their second annual “Oscar Correspondent Contest,” which gives college journalists across the US the chance to win a trip to Los Angeles to cover red carpet arrivals and backstage activities at the 2010 Academy Awards.
The information below is from the Academy’s press release:

From October 26 through December 18, college students are invited to submit a video at http://oscars.mtvu.com, showcasing their broadcast journalism skills and proving why they deserve to cover the Oscars. All videos submitted must be from teams made up of one anchor and one videographer. The Academy and mtvU will select the top ten [...]

Oscar 2010: Adam Shankman, Bill Mechanic to Produce Academy Awards Telecast

Adam Shankman (right) and Bill Mechanic will produce the 2010 Academy Awards telecast, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Tom Sherak has announced today. As per the Academy’s press release, this will be the "first major Oscar show involvement" for both of them.
Shankman’s directorial credits include Bedtime Stories (2008), Hairspray (2007), A Walk to Remember (2002) and The Wedding Planner (2001). His upcoming projects include Rock of Ages, Sinbad, Bob: The Musical and Bye Bye Birdie. In addition to directing, Shankman, along with his sister, Jennifer Gibgot, produce films through Offspring Entertainment. They are currently producing The Last Song, Going The Distance and Step Up 3D, all set for [...]

Oscar 2010: Early Predictions – Best Foreign Language Film

Best Foreign Language Film

Baaria, Giuseppe Tornatore (Italy)
An autobiographical tale set in the director’s Sicilian hometown

Forever Enthralled, Chen Kaige (China)
Biopic chronicling the life of Mei Lanfang, China’s greatest opera star.

I Killed My Mother, Xavier Dolan (Canada)
A young gay man has some serious issues with his mother.

A Prophet, Jacques Audiard (France)
Prison drama in which a young hood learns what it takes to reach the top of that small (and nasty) world.

The White Ribbon, Michael Haneke (Germany)
As a prelude to both World War I and World War II, a German village unexpectedly becomes the setting of numerous acts of cruelty.

Quality (much like fairness) is in the brain of the judge. (Of course, if we’re lucky enough to have a judge [...]

Oscar 2010: Early Predictions – Best Supporting Actress

Best Supporting Actress

Penélope Cruz, Nine
A film director’s seductive mistress (if she’s half as tantalizing in the film as she is in the above photo, Cruz deserves not only a nod but the golden statuette itself)

Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
A professional downsizer’s trainee

Mo’Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
A pregnant, illiterate teen’s Mom from Hell

Julianne Moore, A Single Man (with Colin Firth)
A married alcoholic pining for an English professor — who just happens to be both gay and suicidal

Emma Thompson, An Education
A school headmistress in 1960s London

The most disputed acting category in the 2010 Oscar race. In addition to the aforementioned five actresses, five others who could easily land a nomination (in case their movies open [...]

Oscar 2010: Early Predictions – Best Supporting Actor

Best Supporting Actor

Alfred Molina, An Education (with Cara Seymour, Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard)
An overprotective father worries about his wayward daughter in 1960s London.

Christopher Plummer, The Last Station (with Helen Mirren)
Initially touted as a potential best actor contender, Plummer is getting the supporting treatment for his performance as the elderly Leo Tolstoy. In that category, the veteran actor has a much better chance of landing a nomination. (James McAvoy, formerly in this list for his role in The Last Station, is now in the Oscar 2010 best actor race.)

Paul Schneider, Bright Star
John Keats‘ not too sympathetic best friend Charles Armitage Brown.

Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Apparently, nothing lovely about Tucci in this one.

Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds (with Diane Kruger)
Nazi [...]

Oscar 2010: Best Foreign Language Film Longlist

Sixty-five countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 82nd Academy Awards®, Academy President Tom Sherak announced today. The 2009 submissions are:
Albania, “Alive!,” Artan Minarolli, director;
Argentina, “El Secreto de Sus Ojos,” Juan Jose Campanella, director;
Armenia, “Autumn of the Magician,” Rouben Kevorkov and Vaheh Kevorkov, directors;
Australia, “Samson & Delilah,” Warwick Thornton, director;
Austria, “For a Moment Freedom,” Arash T. Riahi, director;
Bangladesh, “Beyond the Circle,” Golam Rabbany Biplob, director;
Belgium, “The Misfortunates,” Felix van Groeningen, director;
Bolivia, “Zona Sur,” Juan Carlos Valdivia, director;
Bosnia [...]

Oscar 2010: Early Predictions – Best Actress

Best Actress

Abbie Cornish, Bright Star
Frances ‘Fanny’ Brawne has a relatively brief but intense love affair with poet John Keats

Carey Mulligan, An Education
In 1960s London, a schoolgirl falls for a man in his 30s

Michelle Pfeiffer, Cheri
An older courtesan introduces a young man to the art of lovemaking

Gabourey ‘Gabby’ Sidibe, Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
An abused pregnant teen is befriended by a compassionate teacher

Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Julia Child joyfully introduces dead poultry into American kitchens

A dozen actresses — female actors if you wish — can be considered as very strong candidates for a 2010 best actress nomination (as long as their movies open in LA until December 31). In addition to the [...]

Oscar 2010: Early Predictions – Best Director

BEST DIRECTOR

The Hurt Locker, Kathryn Bigelow

The Lovely Bones, Peter Jackson (above, with Saoirse Ronan)

A Serious Man, Joel and Ethan Coen

Up in the Air, Jason Reitman (above, with George Clooney)

The White Ribbon, Michael Haneke

In all honesty, I don’t know who the hell will get a best direction nod this year — though I’m pretty sure it’ll be five of the ten directors listed in my "tentative" 2010 best picture Oscar list.
For the record, the other five not listed above are: Lone Scherfig for An Education; Grant Heslov for The Men Who Stare at Goats; Lee Daniels for Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire; Steven Soderbergh for The Informant!, and Rob Marshall for Nine.
Unless, of course, Jane Campion manages to [...]

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